Vacuum cleaning nozzle with rug beating means



July 11, 1967 H SMITH ETAL 3,329,989

VACUUM CLEANING NOZZLE WITH RUG BEATING MEANS Filed March 5, 1965 3 SheGltS-Sheet l INVENTORS Aaron H. Smith 6. Warren Webb James Hazard a? ATTORNEYS July 11, 1967 A. H. SMITH ETAL 3,329,989

VACUUM CLEANING NOZZLE WITH RUG BEATING MEANS Filed March 5, 1965 5 Sheets-$heet 2 INVENTORS 82 l Aaron H.8m1fl1 5 GZWarrenWabb James Hazard I 2 I ATTORNEYS July 11, 1967 A. H. SMITH ETAL 3,329,989

VACUUM CLEANING NOZZLE WITH RUG BEATING MEANS Filed March 5, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 66 as f INVENTORS Aaron H. Smith 6. Warren Webb James Hazard ATTORN EYS atet 3,329,989 Patented July 11, 1967 Free 3,329,989 VACUUM CLEANING NOZZLE WITH RUG BEATING MEANS Aaron H. Smith, Ipswich, and George Warren Webb,

Revere, Mass., and James Hazard, Swarthmore, Pa., as-

signors to Signal Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Mar. 3, 1965, Ser. No. 436,811 13 Claims. (Cl. 15-382) This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and more particularly it relates to an improved suction nozzle for a vacuum cleaner, with such nozzle having a rug beating means incorporated therein, whereby, as such suction nozzle is moved across a rug during a cleaning operation, a beating action is created on the rug surface. Such beating action serves to separate entrained dirt from the nap of the rug to thus permit such dirt to be sucked up through the nozzle.

As is well known, in the conventional form of vacuum cleaner, a suction nozzle having a central opening therein is provided for movement across a rug to be cleaned. When an operating motor in the vacuum cleaner is energized, a suction effect is created at the opening in the nozzle, and such suction effect tends to suck up free pieces of dust and dirt from the nap of the rug being cleaned. However, while such conventional suction nozzles are suitable for lifting free pieces of dirt from a rug, they are quite unsatisfactory for dislodging entrained dirt from such a rug. It is wel recognized that dirt often becomes ground into the surface of a rug, and the mere suction pressure present at the mouth of a conventional suction nozzle, is insuflicient to remove such ground-in dirt.

In an attempt to improve upon such conventional vacuum cleaners, and to enable them to more efficiently remove dirt from a rug, there have in the past been certain proposed constructions wherein a vacuum cleaner nozzle is provided with a means for beating upon the surface of a rug. In one such prior art construction, an air operated motor served to rotate a beating brush which created a beating action on the surface of the rug being cleaned. Other proposed prior art constructions suggested providing beater elements which were operated solely by the indrawn air. Generally, however, such prior art constructions have not been altogether commercially satisfactory because of inefliciency, a tendency to clog and become inoperative if large dirt particles became wedged in the beater means, and a generally complicated design which required frequent maintenance.

With the foregoing matter firmly in mind, it is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome the deficiencies and shortcomings present in prior art forms of suction nozzles, whether or not such nozzles were equipped with heating means, and to provide in their stead, an improved vacuum cleaner suction nozzle having -a heating means therein.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner suction nozzle having a heating means which is positively driven, to thereby prevent pieces of free dirt from becoming lodged between the beating elements to thereby render the beating means inoperative.

Further objects of the present invention include the provision of an improved vacuum cleaner nozzle which 1) has a simple and efiicient beating means incorporated thereinto; (2) is inexpensive to manufacture, yet is durable in operation; (3) is equipped with a positively driven beating means which assures that the beating elements will properly strike the surface of the rug being cleaned and will not become inoperative while dirt is being withdrawn from the rug and sucked in through such nozzles; (4) is equipped with special passages for accommodation of large free pieces of dirt; (5) can be operated forextended periods of time without any maintenance or servicing; and (6) is streamlined and attractive in appearance.

Other objects, advantages, and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in connection with the annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

The foregoing objects are attained by providing a vacuum cleaner nozzle having an enlarged base portion having an internal cavity therein which terminates in an inlet opening designed to be placed upon the rug to be cleaned. A domed portion of the nozzle extends centrally above the base portion and is provided with a dome cavity which interconnects with the base cavity. The domed portion is also provided with an outlet opening which can be suitably connected, as by tubing or flexible conduit, to a suitable suction source, which, in operation, draws air inwardly through the inlet opening, with such air then passing through the base cavity into the domed cavity and then exhausting to the outlet opening. Additionally, raised grooves or channels are provided at the top of the base portion on opposite sides of the domed portion to thus define a pair of channels which further interconnect the base cavity and the domed cavity.

Beater element means, in the form of a plurality of elongated rods having rollers thereon, are mounted across the inlet opening in the nozzle. Within the nozzle, drive means in the form of a pair of resilient flap members are mounted, with such flap members being fixed at their outer ends and having free inner ends which are juxtaposed to one another to form a type of valve means. These flap members are mounted beneath the domed cavity and are so dimensioned that they may swing upwardly into the domed cavity. At least one of the beater elements is provided with a projection which can strike the beater element means.

When the vacuum cleaner is put into operation, and the suction source is energized, air is drawn inwardly through the inlet opening to pass through the nozzle and to exhaust through the outlet opening. Such indrawn air causes the flap members to flex upwardly into the domed cavity. As such upward flexing continues, the free inner edges of the flap members gradually separate and swing apart from one another. Thereupon, due to the inherent resiliency of the flap member material, and also, if desired, due to the further aiding effect of leaf spring means partially overlying the flap members, such flap members terminate their upward movement and start to flex downwardly. When the flap members flex or swing downwardly, the projection on the flap members strikes against the top of the beater element means and forces the same downwardly into contact with the surface of. the rug being cleaned. When the beater element means so strikes the rug surface, it tends to separate and dislodge the dirt entrained in the nap of the rug, and such dirt is thereafter drawn up along with the air being sucked through the nozzle, to thus clean the surface of the rug beneath the nozzle. Immediately after the flap members reach their ultimate downwardly flexed position, where they effect a striking of the beater element means, such flap members again start to flex upwardly due to the inwardly drawn air. It can thus be seen that the flap members are in a constantly oscillating state of action.

Since the beater element means are specifically sized smaller than the inlet opening to the nozzle, there will always be a free flow passage through which the dirt can enter the nozzle. Such a flow passage extends at least along one extremity of the beater element means. However, it might also be noted that when the beater element means strike the carpet, they tend to separate slightly nicates downwardly with the base cavity 22 i 3 from one another, and thus the dirt may be drawn up into the nozzle between adjacent beater elements, as well as around the same. If a larger piece of dirt, such as a pebble, is drawn up into the nozzle, it will not foul the drive means or render the same inoperative, since such an enlarged piece can be drawn through the groove channels and around the lateral extremities of the drive means.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view, partially broken away, showing the new and novel vacuum cleaner nozzle in accordance'with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the vacuum cleaner nozzle of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4' of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 55 of FIGURE4;

FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 are fragmentary sectional views showing various positions of the drive means and heater element means of the vacuum cleaner nozzle; and,

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner in which the brush is mounted in the vacuum cleaner nozzle.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum cleaner nozzle generally designated 10 having a body member generally designated 12. Within the nozzle 10, beater element means generally designated 14 are mounted, and drive means generally designated 16 are positioned above the beater element means 14. The general arrangement of the nozzle 10 and the primary parts thereof will be apparent by reference to FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, it will be seen that the body member 12 includes an elongated base portion 18 which merges into a centrally raised domed portion 20. As can clearly be seen from FIGURE 4, the interior of the base portion 18 is hollow and thus defines an internal base cavity 22. Similarly, the interior of the domed portion 20 is hollow and thus defines an internal domed cavity 24. The base and domed cavities 22 and 24, respectively, freely intercommunicate with one another. Additionally, as can be seen in FIGURES 1 and 4, a raised bead, or grooves 26 is formed in the top of the base portion 18, at each side of the domed portion 20, and such groove gradually diverges in width and elevates in height as it extends from the end of the base portion 18 to merge into the domed portion 20. Such a bead or groove 26 defines an internal channel 28 which commuand at its inner lateral end with the domed cavity 24.

A metal base plate 30 having a cross sectional area substantially the same as that of the base portion 18, is superposed beneath such base portion and is attached thereto by suitable attachment means, such as screws 32. The base plate 30 is generally fiat and is designed to be placed upon the surface of a rug to be cleaned and to be drawn or moved thereacross. An elongated opening 34 is formed within the base portion 30 by turning the edges of the same inwardly and upwardly for a short distance, as can best be seen in FIGURE 3. This opening 34 provides'the inlet opening or mouth for the nozzle 10. An outlet opening 36 is provided at the rear end of the domed portion 20, and it will thus be apparent that air can freely flow through the noozle 10 by entering through the inlet opening 34, passing through the base cavity 22 into the domed-cavity 24 and thereafter exhausting through the outlet opening 36. I A

In order to assure proper flow through the nozzle, it is necessary that the nozzle be connected to a suitable suction source, such as a conventional motor driven vacuum 'cleaner. To accomplish such connection, a swivel cou-' pling elbow 38 is provided, with such elbowhaving its inner end disposed within the outlet opening 361An in- 4., wardly depending portion 40 formed on the inside of the domed cavity 24 and extending from the upperportion thereof, serves to convert the outlet opening 36 into an elongated recess which terminates in an aperture 42 at the inner end of the depending portion 40. The inner end of the elbow 38 which is disposed within such recess is surrounded by a pair of sealing O-rings 44 which seal against the wall ofthe recess to assure that air cannot flow between the elbow and the walls of the recess, but instead, must flow through the hollow elbow. A key 46 is mounted in the depending portion 40 and projects upwardly between the O-rings 44 to assure that the coupling elbow 38 cannot inadvertently be withdrawn from its recess housing. The upper or outer end of the elbow I 38 can be suitably connected with hose or tubing of a.

' the base plate 30 and the downwardly projecting skirt edges at the periphery of the base portion 18. Such a bumper strip 38 serves to prevent damage in case the nozzle 10 is inadvertently moved to cont-act with an article 'of furniture, while the rug is being cleaned. Additionally,

the bumper strip 38 serves as a sealing means to assure that no leakage will occur between'the base portion 18 and the base plate 30.

In some instances, it may be desirable to use a brush to provide a sweeping action in conjunction with the suction action normally produced in'the nozzle 10. To

this end, an elongated brush generally designated 50 is provided, with such brush having a backing strip 52 with a series of bristles 54 depending therefrom. A brush mounting assembly is provided for positioning the brush 50 within the nozzle 10, and this assembly can best be seen by reference to FIGURE 3. In FIGURE 3, the brush assembly is shown as including a mounting member generally designated 56 and including a pair of, stepped and interconnected generally horizontal portions 58 and 60, respectively and a depending vertical portion 62 which depends downwardly from the peripheral edge of the horizontal portion 58, and thus extends into the mouth 34 of the nozzle. A series of mounting screws 64 pass through the horizontal portion 60 and thus connect the member 56 to the body member 12. As can be seen in FIGURES 1 and 4, transverse abutment surfaces 66 extend internally of the base portion 18 at opposite ends thereof. The brush backin gstrip 52 has its opposite ends resting upon these abutment surfaces 66, as shown in FIGURE 9, to thus assure that the brush 50 will remain properly housed To this end, a brush control lever 68 is provided, with the handle end thereof'extending through a slot 70 in the bumper strip 48. The lever is pivotally mounted by means of a rivet 72 extending through the lever and the horizontal portion 58 of the member 56. The lever is provided with a small tip'74 designed to be selectively moved into or out of contact with the backing strip 52 on the brush 50, as the control lever 68 is rotated. If the tip is moved beneath the edge of the backing strip. 52, as shown in FIGURE 3, the brush 50 will be held in a fully retracted position and the bristles 54 will not contact the rugb'eing cleaned. On the other hand,'if the tip 72 is moved to contact the top of the backing strip 52, the brush 50 willbe held in a fully extended position and the bristles 54 will always contact the rug being cleaned. As an alternative to either of these two positions, the brush 50' can be left in a free floating position wherein its exact position is controlled by biasing compression springs 76. As shown in FIGURE 5, a pair of socket means 78 depend downwardly from the underside of the member 58, and these socket means provide a recess in which the springs 76 can be housed. If the tip 74 is moved out of a contacting position with the backing strip 52 on the brush means 5! the position of the brush will be controlled by the biasing effect of the spring 76.

The beater element means 14 is formed by a series of elongated rods 80, each having a plurality of rollers 82 rotatably mounted thereon. Each end of the rods 80 seats within a recess 84 formed in the transverse abutment 66, as shown in FIGURE 1. Preferably, the rollers 82 are formed of a plastic material, such as polyethylene. In the preferred and illustrated embodiment of the invention, two rods 80 are provided, but it will be recognized that the invention is not limited to this number of rods, and that any suitable number of such rods, with rollers thereon, can be used.

The drive means 16 is formed by a pair of flap members 86 and 88. In the preferred embodiment of invention, only the flap member 88 is designed to actually contact and strike the beater element means 14, and it will thus be noted that the flap members 86 and 88 are not formed identically. Both flap members are formed, preferably entirely, of a resilient material, such as polypropylene. Also, each of the flap members has an elongated plate or web which is fixed at its outer end and which has a free inner end with a weighted projection thereon. The free inner ends of the adjacent flap members 86 and 88 are juxtaposed to one another in the manner shown in FIG- URES 1, 3, 5 and 6.

Specifically, the flap member 86 is provided with a rounded bead or ridge 90 at its free inner end. A plate 92 is positioned beneath the flap member 86 at its outer end and a series of screws 94 extend through such plate 92 and the flap member 86 to fix the same to the body member 12. The flap member 88 is provided at its free inner end with an enlarged downward projection 96, with such projection having a generally flat bottom surface, which, in its normal position, abuts against the top of the rollers 82 on each of the rods 80, as can be clearly seen in FIG- URES 1 and 3. A hollow cavity 98 is formed centrally within the projection 96, and the size of this cavity can be controlled to thus determine the effective weight of the projection 96. The outer end of the flap member 88 is attached to the body member 12 by the screws 64 which are also used to attach the brush mounting member 56, as previously described. Not only is the size of the projection 96 substantially greater than the projection 90, but furthermore, the thickness of the flap member 88 is substantially thicker than that of the flap member 86. As exemplary dimensions, the flap member 86 may be formed with a thickness of -15 mils while the flap member 88 may be formed with a thickness of 40-45 mils.

Auxiliary leaf spring means 100 and 102 can be provided respectively for the flap members 86 and 88 with such leaf spring means being formed of any suitable flexible material, such as polypropylene. Each auxiliary leaf spring is mounted above its respective flap member, and extends inwardly from the fixed end of the flap member but terminates short of its free end. It will thus be apparent that the leaf springs 100 and 102 are held in position respectively by the mounting screws 94 and 64.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description of the drive means 16, that the flap members 86 and 88 cooperate together ot form a valve means. When such valve means is in its normal or rest condition, the projection 96 rests upon the beater element means in the manner shown in FIGURES 3, 5 and 6, and the projection 90 is juxtaposed quite closely thereto, thus spaced above and to the side of such beater element means. Such valve means has a transverse or lateral extent slightly smaller than that of the domed cavity 24 to thus enable 6 the members 86 and 88 to flex upwardly into such domed cavity, as shown in doted lines in FIGURES 4 and 5.

In opera-tion, a suction effect created by operation of the vacuum cleaner tends to draw air inwardly through the mouth or inlet opening 34 of the nozzle. As shown in FIGURES 68, the nozzle in operation is placed over a rug generally designated R with the base plate 30 of the nozzle resting upon the nap or upper surface of the rug R. As the suction source draws air inwardly through the mouth 34 of the nozzle 10, the valve or flap members 86 and 88 flex upwardly from their at rest position of FIG- URE 6, and assume a configuration such as is shown in FIGURE 7. Since the outer ends of such flap members are fixed, the free or inner ends tend to flex or pivot upwardly above such fixed ends. As such flap members move upward, their free or inner ends tend to separate from one another, in the manner shown in FIGURES 5 and 7 in dashed lines. Actually, during such upward flexing, the members are moving upward into the domed cavity 24 in the manner shown in dashed lines in FIGURE 4. When such flap members finally reach their limit of upward displacement, as controlled by the flexibility and resiliency of such members, and their leaf springs, and as further controlled by the degree of separation of the free ends and the air flow therebetween, the upward movement terminates and the flap members start to pivot back downwardly due to their own resilience and the auxiliary added effect of the leaf springs. At the position of extreme upward displacement, it will be noted that the projection 96 on the flap member 88 has moved completely out of contact with the beater element means 14. However, as the flap members swing downwardly in the manner shown in FIGURE 8, such projection 96 strikes against the top of such beater element means and drives the same into contact with the surface of the rug. Such driving means also tends to separate adjacent beater elements slightly, as shown in FIGURE 8.

This driving or striking of the beater element means into the surface of the rug tends to separate and dislodge any dirt which might be entrained in the nap of the rug. Once the flap members have moved to the position shown in FIGURE 8, they have reached their limit of downward displacement and immediately thereafter, due to their own resiliency and the upward suction pressure of the air, such flap members again start to flex upwardly and repeat the foregoing cycle. The result is a constant oscillating effect of the flap members, with the inner or free ends thereof actually pivoting through an arc between their upward and downward limits of displace ment. The speed at which such flap members oscillate can be controlled by the thickness of the members themselves, as well as by the weight of the projections 90 and 96. It is, of course, important that such flap elements 86 and 88 oscillate generally in unison to provide a synchronous form of valvinig effect. However, since only the projection 96 strikes the beater elements, it is important that this projection be far heavier than the complemental projection 90, since the weight of the projection 96 is what determines the striking force of thebeater elements into the rug. Hence, by making the flap member 88 relatively thick and the flap member 86 relatively thin, the projections 90 and 96 may be varied accordingly, and yet the flap members will still operate relatively synchronously.

It is an important feature of the present invention that the cross sectional area of the composite beater means 14 is somewhat smaller than the cross sectional area of the effective mouth of the nozzle. Although the mouth or inlet opening 34 itself is considerably larger than the cross sectional area of the beater element means, the effective size mouth is reduced by the presence of the brush means 50 and the depending portion 62 of its mounting member. However, as will be clearly seen from FIGURE 2, a space exists between the wall 62 and its nearest beater element, and a similar space exists between the opposite edge of the mouth 34 and its adjacent beater element. As such, there can always be a free flow of air into the nozzle, regardless of the position of the beater element means themselves.

As the drive means 16 operates the beater element 7 means 14 to separate dirt from the surface of the rug, in

the manner previously described, such dislodged or separated dirt is sucked up through the nozzle along with the air being drawn therethrough. Such dirt enters the nozzle for the most part between the beater elements and the effective walls of the mouth. However, as shown in FIGURE 8, when the beater element means actually strike the rug, there is a certain separation between adjacent elements, and a certain amount of free or separated dirt may be drawninto the nozzle between the adjacent beater elements. As such dirt gets sucked into the nozzle through the "mouth or inlet opening, it passes through the base cavity 22 and either around or between the drive means 14 to enter the domed cavity 24, from which it exhausts through the outlet opening 36. Since the flap members 86 and 88 separate from one another during upward flexing while oscillating, a certain amount of dirt can pass be tween the free inner edges of such flap members. However, if a large piece of dirt, such as a pebble, is sucked up by the nozzle 10, such piece of dirt might have difficulty in passing between the free edges of the flap members. For this reason, the channels 28 were provided as a means whereby a piece of dirt could bypass or surround the flap members. As can be seen in FIGURES 4 and 5, the channels 28 extend somewhat above the height of the drive means, when the same is at rest. Thus, a large piece of dirt can freely flow through such channels and'into the domed cavity, regardless of the position of the flap members 86 and 88. 7

It should thus be apparent that the present invention provides a. simple and eflicient means for cleaning, beating, and, if desired, sweeping a rug or other similar surface. The beater element means 14 is positively driven by the drive means 16, with the force of such positive driving being controllable through the various factors described hereinbefore. Using such a positive driving and beating effect, a highly desirable heating or vibrating action is created in the surface of a rug to thus assure that not only free dirt, but entrained or ground-in dirt as well, will be fully withdrawn from the rug during a cleaning operation.

After reading the foregoing detailed description, it should be apparent that the objects set forth at the outset of this specification have been successfully achieved. Accordingly,

What is claimed is:

1. A vacuum cleaner nozzle comprising:

a body member having an elongated inlet opening, an

outlet opening, and an internal cavity extending between said inlet and outlet openings;

said inlet opening being adapted to be drawn across the surface of a rug to be cleaned;

said outlet opening being adapted to be connected to a suction source which, in operation, draws air inwardly through said inlet opening, with such indrawn air thereafter passing through said internal cavity and exhausting through said outlet opening;

drive means mounted within said internal cavity substantially centrally of said elongated inlet opening whereby lateral extremities of said inlet opening extend beyond the. side edges of said drive means;

said drive means having a normal position whereat it acts as a valve means to substantially block communication between said inlet opening and said outlet opening;

said body member including bypass channel means communicating between said lateral extremities of said inlet opening and said internal cavity;

beater element means disposed in said inlet opening;

said beater element means being sized smaller than said inlet opening whereby past said beater element means through said bypass ing a continuous air flow through said body member even when said drive means is in said normal position; said drive means being movable away from said normal position to an inwardly displaced position, with such movement being effected by the air being indrawn by said suction source; said'drive means further being movable from its inwardly displaced position, past said normal position and to a beating position whereat said drive means strikes said beater element means and drives the same against the surface of the rug being cleaned to thus separate dirt from such rug surface whereupon such separated dirt is drawn through said nozzle along with the air being indrawn by said suction source. 2. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 1 wherein said drive means includes at least on resilient member having one end fixed to said body member and the opposite end free to strike against said heater element means.

3. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 1 wherein said drive means includes a pair of resilient flap members having fixed outer edges and free inner edges juxtaposed to one another to form said valve means.

4. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 3 wherein said indrawn air causes said conjointly away from said beater element means until said fiap members reach said inwardly displaced position whereat said inner edgesseparate from one another whereupon said flap members swing conjointly toward said heater element means with at least one of said flap mem-, bers striking said heater element means.

5. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 4 wherein one of said flap members is provided with a depending projection beneath its free end and wherein said projection strikes said heater element means. 6. A vacuum cleaner nozzle comprising: a body member having an elongated base portion with an internal cavity therein defining a base cavity;

said body member further having a raised central domed portion projecting above said base portion and having an internal cavity therein defining a dome cavity;

said dome cavity being of a smaller cross-sectional area than said base cavity and being in intercommunication therewith;

said base portion having an inlet opening therein adapted to overlie a rug to be cleaned and being in communication with said base'cavity;

said domed portion having an outlet opening therein communicating with said dome cavity and adapted to be connected to a suction applying means; said suction applying means being operative to draw air inwardly through said inlet opening with such indrawn air passing through said base cavity into said dome cavity and then exhausting through said outlet opening;

beater element means mounted in said base portion and said drive means including a pair of'fiap members mounted adjacent their outer ends and having juxtaposed free inner ends which cooperate to form a V valve means;

one of said flap member inner ends including a weighted portion to act as a striker head for said heater element means;

channel means, thereby assurflap members to swing said flap members being upwardly displaceable under the influence of air indrawn through said inlet opening, with such upward displacement moving said drive means to a first position at least partially into said dome cavity and causing said inner ends to separate thereby opening said valve means;

said flap members being fabricated at least partially of a resilient material whereby, when said upward displacement terminates, said flap member will flex resiliently downwardly to a second position whereat said striker head strikes against said beater element means and thereby create a beating action on the rug being cleaned;

said flap members having controlled resiliency to assure synchronous oscillation thereof between said first and second positions and to control the speed of such oscillation.

7. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 6 wherein said valve means, in its normal position, substantially separates said dome cavity from said base cavity, but wherein said dome and base cavities still intercommunicate around the lateral extremities of said valve means.

8. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 6 wherein said heater element means includes a plurality of elongated rods having rollers rotatably mounted thereon.

9. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 8 wherein said striker head strikes at least some rollers on each of said rods when said drive means flexes resiliently downwardly.

10. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 6 wherein said flap members are fabricated essentially of polypropylene.

11. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 6 but further characterized by a leaf spring means overlying each of said flap members and extending from its fixed end toward its free end, said leaf spring means serving as an additional biasing means for flexing said flap downwardly.

12. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 6 but further characterized by groove means formed in said base portion at the upper end of said base cavity, with said groove means gradually tapering inwardly and upwardly to merge into said dome cavity.

13. A vacuum cleaner nozzle as defined in claim 12 wherein said groove means defines at least one by-pass channel through which large dirt particles can pass, said by-pass channel enabling such large dirt particles to move from said base cavity to said dome cavity by passing around said drive means, thereby assuring that such large dirt particles cannot lodge in said drive means and render the same inoperative.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,096,517 10/ 1937 Hurley 15-3 82 3,002,217 10/ 1961 Smithson et a1. l5382 FOREIGN PATENTS 577,730 6/ 1933 Germany 520,107 4/1940 Great Britain. 695,333 8/1953 Great Britain.

ROBERT W. MITCHELL, Primary Examiner. 

1. A VACUUM CLEANER NOZZLE COMPRISING: A BODY MEMBER HAVING AN ELONGATED INTLET OPENING, AN OUTLET OPENING, AND AN INTERNAL CAVITY EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID INLET AND OUTLET OPENINGS; SAID INLET OPENING BEING ADAPTED TO BE DRAWN ACROSS THE SURFACE OF A RUG TO BE CLEANED; SAID OUTLET OPENING BEING ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO A SUCTION SOURCE WHICH, IN OPERATION, DRAWS AIR INWARDLY THROUGH SAID INLET OPENING, WITH SUCH INDRAWN AIR THEREAFTER PASSING THROUGH SAID INTERNAL CAVITY AND EXHAUSTING THROUGH SAID OUTLET OPENING; DRIVE MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN SAID INTERNAL CAVITY SUBSTANTIALLY CENTRALLY OF SAID ELONGATED INLET OPENING WHEREBY LATERAL EXTREMITIES OF SAID INLET OPENING EXTEND BEYOND THE SIDE EDGES OF SAID DRIVE MEANS; SAID DRIVE MEANS HAVING A NORMAL POSITION WHEREAT IT ACTS AS A VALVE MEANS TO SUBSTANTIALLY BLOCK COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID INLET OPENING AND SAID OUTLET OPENING; SAID BODY MEMBER INCLUDING BYPASS CHANNEL MEANS COMMUNICATING BETWEEN SAID LATERIAL EXTREMITIES OF SAID INLET OPENING AND SAID INTERNAL CAVITY; BEATER ELEMENT MEANS DISPOSED IN SAID INLET OPENING; SAID BEATER ELEMENT MEANS BEING SIZED SMALLER THAN SAID INLET OPENING WHEREBY AIR MAY ALWAYS FLOW FREELY PAST SAID BEATER ELEMENT MEANS TO PASS INTO AND THROUGH SAID BYPASS CHANNEL MEANS, THEREBY ASSURING A CONTINUOUS AIR FLOW THROUGH SAID BODY MEMBER EVEN WHEN SAID DRIVE MEANS IS IN SAID NORMAL POSITION; SAID DRIVE MEANS BEING MOVABLE AWAY FROM SAID NORMAL POSITION TO AN INWARDLY DISPLACED POSITION, WITH SUCH MOVEMENT BEING EFFECTED BY THE AIR BEING INDRAWN BY SAID SUCTION SOURCE; SAID DRIVE MEANS FURTHER BEING MOVABLE FROM ITS INWARDLY DISPLACED POSITION, PAST SAID NORMAL POSITION AND TO A BEATING POSITION WHEREAT SAID DRIVE MEANS STRIKES SAID BEATER ELEMENT MEANS AND DRIVES THE SAME AGAINST THE SURFACE OF THE RUG BEING CLEANED TO THUS SEPARATE DIRT FROM SUCH RUG SURFACE WHEREUPON SUCH SEPARATED DIRT IS DRAWN THROUGH SAID NOZZLE ALONG WITH THE AIR BEING INDRAWN BY SAID SUCTION SOURCE. 